Fear sweeps Canada at the thought of Trump’s return to office

The thought of Donald Trump returning to the White House has Canadians worried, at least that is what the polls say. The Canadian government is also concerned about what could happen in the US if Trump is re-elected.

On July 23rd, the Angus Reid Institute released its latest polling data about what Canadians are thinking when it comes to Donald Trump winning a second term as president and the polling showed that a majority think it would be bad. 

Two in five of the 1,435 Canadians polled by Angus Ried noted a second administration led by Trump would be “terrible news” for Canada according to the market research firm and another 28% said it would just be “bad”.

“Fewer than one-in-six believe instead it would be good or excellent,” Angus Ried wrote in its news release on its new polling. While this might seem bad, there were a few other findings that revealed the scale of the problem in the minds of Canadians. 

65% of those polled reported that Canada’s relationship with the United States would be negatively affected by a second Trump term while 87% noted the same for the country’s unity with its American ally. But that wasn’t all that was discovered.

67% thought that a second Trump administration in the White House would negatively impact the fight against climate change and 60% reported they thought it would hurt the Canadian economy. 68% think Trump will negatively impact global peace. 

With Canadians so concerned about a second Trump administration in office, it would make sense that leaders in Ottawa would be just as worried, and some recent reporting suggests the government has a plan to deal with a Trump win.  

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reportedly chosen the country’s Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne to lead Ottawa’s efforts to squash any bilateral issues that crop up between Canada and the Republicans. 

CBC News reported on July 21st that Champagne has already visited states like Ohio, New York, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, and Nebraska, as well as Washington D.C. to protect Canada’s special bilateral trade relationships with the United States. 

"Throughout these visits, he has actively engaged with key influencers, including mayors, governors, labour leaders, and chambers of commerce, who recognize the increasing interconnectedness of our economies," a statement from Champagne’s spokesperson explained about the minister’s meetings. 

Global News reported one major worry that concerns economists is Trump’s proposed 10% tax on all foreign imports, a policy proposal that Global News noted would hurt Canada far more than the United States and could lead to a 3.6% drop in Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

However, despite the efforts by Trudeau’s government, a second Trump term in office is something that Canadians should be concerned about according to Laura Dawson, an expert in Canada-U.S. relations and the director of the Future Borders Coalition.

"A Trump victory gives Canadians pause, it gives Canadians reason for concern. We have a pretty good idea of where the Trump team will be going on issues affecting Canada and none of them are very good," Dawson told CBC News. 

While Trump’s campaign has only released a 16-page document on the policies that he plans to pursue in a hypothetical second term if reelected, it suggests illegal immigration and trade sanctions are two areas that will receive a lot of attention from his administration. 

CBC News’ John Paul Walker noted Trump’s policy document suggests he will punish allies who do not spend more on defense and also flood the energy market with cheap sources of energy, these issues along with others “could touch Canada in meaningful ways” according to Walker. 

More broadly, if the former president adopts one major piece of policy outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, it could become a big problem for Canada-U.S. relations according to some experts who spoke with Global News in July. 

In particular, experts like McMaster University professor and political scientist Donald Abelson are worried about how the possibility Trump will reclassify thousands of the country’s civil servants as political appointees and fire them.  

“You can imagine how chaotic the process would become if people with years of expertise and knowledge, and institutional memory, are all of a sudden replaced by a band of sycophants who don’t have that long-term understanding of history," Abelson told Global News. 

"The importance of the relationship, and why it needs to be nurtured,” Abelson added. 

Whether or not the potential issues a second Trump term in office could cause are being planned for at the highest levels of government is unknown. But Global News noted that Trudeau has met with the governors of Pennsylvania and Maryland in recent weeks. 

Pennsylvania and Maryland are two key Canadian trading partners, so it is likely the Trudeau government has been making moves to secure Canada’s special relationship with its southern ally, but Canadians still have a right to be worried about what might happen if Trump wins the presidential election in November. 

Never miss a story! Click here to follow The Daily Digest.